Passim

Mandamus decisions / District of Columbia

KESHTKAR JAFARI v. POMPEO

District of ColumbiaRoyce C. LamberthDecided May 3, 2020No. 1:19-cv-01819

Read the decisionOriginal on CourtListener

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What the decision decided

Each value cites the passage it was read from. Values read by a model were checked against that passage; values read by rule come from fixed text patterns. Read the decision before relying on either.

Agency Department of State Read by a model
The U.S. Consulate in Montreal made a request for information from Ms. Akhyani, to which she responded in November of 2018.
Form or filing 221(g) (consular refusal); DS-260 (immigrant visa) Read by a model
Plaintiffs allege that defendants have failed to adjudicate Ms. Akhyani’s immigrant visa application in a timely manner
What the suit asked for Decide the application Read by a model
Plaintiffs believe that the government’s adjudication of her waiver request has been unreasonably delayed and seek a writ of mandamus compelling defendants to make a final decision about her eligibility for this waiver.
Kind of order A ruling on a motion or the petition Read by a model
the Court will GRANT defendants’ Motion to Dismiss (ECF No. 10). It will be ORDERED that this case is DISMISSED with prejudice.
Motion decided Motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction; Motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim Read by a model
Defendants have filed a Motion to Dismiss (ECF No. 10) for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure (“Rule”) 12(b)(1) and for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted under Rule 12(b)(6).
Whose motion The government's motion Read by a model
Defendants have filed a Motion to Dismiss (ECF No. 10)
Disposition Dismissed The case or every delay claim was dismissed for a reason other than mootness. Read by a model
It will be ORDERED that this case is DISMISSED with prejudice.
Prevailing party Government Read by a model
Based on the foregoing, the Court will GRANT defendants’ Motion to Dismiss (ECF No. 10).
The delay claim Dismissed Read by a model
plaintiffs have failed to make a legally cognizable claim that would entitle them to a writ of mandamus, meaning that the Court must dismiss the case with prejudice.
The other claims Dismissed Read by a model
The Court finds that the doctrine of consular nonreviewability clearly bars review of the underlying visa application but does not bar review of the government’s ongoing adjudication of the waiver request.
Months pending Not stated at filing The agency acted before this decision, so the months up to the decision are not a delay and are not shown. Read by a model
a year and a half is too long for a waiver request to remain pending
TRAC factors The court weighed the TRAC factors
  • 1. Rule of reasonfavors the government
  • 2. Congressional timetablefavors the government
  • 3. Human health and welfarenot reached
  • 4. Competing prioritiesfavors the government
  • 5. Interests prejudicednot reached
  • 6. No impropriety needednot reached
Read by a model
There is no statute requiring the government to adjudicate waiver requests in a certain order or within a certain amount of time
The government's delay arguments Line-jumping accepted Read by a model
It is thus not for the Court to tell the agency that a year and a half is too long for a waiver request to remain pending, nor is it the Court’s place to tell agency how to prioritize its thousands of pending applications.
Threshold rulings Consular nonreviewability applied; Consular nonreviewability rejected; Held moot; Mootness argument rejected Read by a model
The Court finds that the doctrine of consular nonreviewability clearly bars review of the underlying visa application but does not bar review of the government’s ongoing adjudication of the waiver request.
Nationality Iran Read by a model
Mr. Jafari is a U.S. permanent resident whose wife, Ms. Akhyani, is an Iranian citizen currently residing in Canada.
212(f) proclamation Proclamation 9645 Read by a model
After this interview, defendant John Doe notified her that her visa application was refused pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1182(f) and Presidential Proclamation 9645.
I-130 category Family preference Read by a model
Mr. Jafari is a U.S. permanent resident whose wife, Ms. Akhyani, is an Iranian citizen currently residing in Canada.

How the case ended

Docket
No. 1:19-cv-01819
Filed
June 21, 2019
Ended
May 3, 2020
Suit's filing to its end
317 days
How it ended
Dismissed on jurisdiction or the merits
From the record
idb disp 6 (judgment: motion before trial), judgment for defendant

A voluntary or stipulated dismissal is how most suits end once the agency acts; the docket rarely says why.

Supreme Court and D.C. Circuit authority

District decisions bind no one. On the questions this decision raises, the Supreme Court decisions and the circuit's published decisions listed here bind this court; a circuit disposition marked nonprecedential was not published as precedent and is persuasive only. ImmCite status as read November 3, 2026. Check the current status before relying on one.